Jack’s words made Arlong feel that something was very off.
It wasn’t that he thought there was anything wrong with erecting a statue. Rather, he thought there was something wrong with Jack.
These past few days, this kid had acted unbelievably straightforward every single day, doing everything in the most direct manner possible.
If someone else said, “Watch it or I’ll kill you!” during an argument, they might be joking, but if Jack said it, he really meant to do it.
Yet now, this junior who had left everyone with the impression of being “simple and honest” had actually been the first to raise such a politically correct topic for Fishman Island. It made Arlong begin to wonder whether Jack’s usual image had all been an act.
“What’s wrong, Senior Arlong? Do you think the proposal is bad?”
“Of course not. It’s a very good suggestion. Since it was your idea, you can also decide where to build it. Just remember not to disturb the ordinary people’s lives. Pick a suitable place.”
“Okay.”
Jack then fell silent and sank into thought, seemingly considering whether the statue should be placed by the sea or on top of a mountain, and what material should be used to construct it. He immediately entered a state of mental shutdown.
No one objected to Arlong’s amusement park plan either. After all, among their group, Arlong’s mind could already be considered the most active.
Once the plan for a seaside water park was settled, the group immediately started a banquet. Fresh vegetables, fruit, and meat purchased in Cocoyasi Village, along with various rare fish caught from the deep sea, made up the main dishes of the feast.
Under the roasting flames and the blowing sea breeze, waves of delicious aromas drifted throughout Cocoyasi Village.
In truth, it wasn’t only the banquet food giving off enticing smells. Thanks to Arlong’s lavish spending, quite a few people had earned far more income today than they normally would.
Influenced by the seaside banquet, many people in Cocoyasi Village also began improving their meals. Even Belle-mère’s home, located in a relatively remote area, had a much richer dinner than usual today.
This surprised six-year-old Nami and eight-year-old Nojiko.
“Belle-mère, is today some kind of festival?”
“No. It’s just that a group of big customers came by. I’m already full. You two stay home and behave. I have to go out and take care of something.”
People who handed out money the moment they met were certainly much better than those who came waving pirate flags and looting, but who knew what their true intentions were?
Still uneasy, Belle-mère decided to go take a look. But when she reached the area near the docks, all she saw was a group of Fish-Men singing and dancing, completely absorbed in the banquet. She could even make out several Merfolk in the shallow water.
Besides Arlong and the others, Genzo had also been watching from a short distance away. Just as Belle-mère walked over, she happened to hear Arlong inviting Genzo to join the banquet.
“Why not come have a drink with us, sheriff? We’ll be responsible for the security around here from now on. Mere pirates are no match for us out on the sea.
It doesn’t matter even if you get a hangover. As long as you can still get up the next day and maintain order in the village! Shahahaha!”
Genzo shook his head and refused. Arlong didn’t continue inviting him and simply turned around to keep drinking with Hachi and the others nearby.
“Aren’t they pretty friendly? Why do you look so worried?”
“Look over there.”
Genzo didn’t explain. He merely pointed toward the nearby shallows. By now, the sky had already grown dark.
However, Cocoyasi’s natural environment was excellent. The bright moonlight and dazzling stars illuminated the shallows below. Though it wasn’t as bright as during the day, the general outlines could still be seen clearly.
Compared to the beach Belle-mère remembered, there seemed to be many more pieces of broken rock scattered around.
Belle-mère had difficulty understanding what Genzo meant, but when a figure like a small giant emerged from the sea while carrying a rock larger than her entire house, she suddenly understood exactly what Genzo was thinking.
It was Jack, who was searching for materials. He seemed dissatisfied with the rock, but leaving it there would only take up space, so Jack shattered the massive boulder with a single punch before turning around and diving back into the sea once more.
“The difference is too great… If they really have some… bad intentions, what can we possibly do…?”
The pistol at Genzo’s waist gave him no sense of security whatsoever. Even ten of them together might not have been able to drag that rock, yet the other side could lift it over his head with one hand and even smash it apart with a single punch.
Moreover, none of the other Fish-Men seemed the slightest bit surprised. They did not even spare it another glance, reacting as though they had merely heard someone set off a firecracker.
“We’ll just have to take things as they come. With things like this… all we can do is deal with it one step at a time.”
At noon the next day, Arlong once again came to the village square. Since Genzo had already posted a notice yesterday, most of the villagers had gathered there.
Aside from their somewhat unusual appearances, Arlong and the others had acted very friendly ever since arriving here. Most of the villagers had come out of curiosity, wanting to see exactly what was going on.
“Everyone, I come from the Ryugu Kingdom, and your country has already leased this land to us. Now, we plan to build the number one amusement park in the East Blue right here! That means we’ll need a lot of workers!
We’ll pay wages, and anyone who works for us will no longer need to pay taxes to the kingdom!”
When leasing this area, Arlong had already settled that issue as well, buying out the taxes for the next fifty years in one lump sum.
In other words, the taxation rights over this land now belonged to Arlong. How he collected taxes and how much he collected were entirely up to him.
All the villages combined only generated around ten million Berry a year in taxes anyway, and Arlong did not care about that amount. He could simply make a trip out to sea, find a pirate crew with bounties on their heads, and cash them in with the Marines.
Thus, Arlong chose to win over the local residents in this manner. Put simply, he was throwing even more money around.
“Y-You mean that’s true?!”
“Of course! We won’t impose any additional taxes either. But all of this is on the condition that someone in your family is working for us. Otherwise, you’ll still have to pay Berry just like before.
These are the types of workers we need and the wages we’re offering. After looking them over, you can register with our Mr. Sheriff here. He’ll compile the names and hand them over to us.
Also, we need to use this piece of land. Whoever owns it can come talk to me about compensation for the land acquisition.”
“That land was unused village property to begin with. If you want to use it, go ahead.”
“Is that so? Even better.”
Arlong did not mind spending money, but he was actually rather fond of wealth himself. Even though the money was not his own, he would not waste it when there was no need to.
“Porters, two hundred and fifty thousand Berry per month…”
“Carpenters, starting at three hundred thousand Berry per month…”
Although the wages were paid monthly rather than daily, an amusement park was a long-term construction project to begin with. Combined with the income, which was far higher than what they normally earned, quite a few people were tempted. Genzo soon received plenty of applications.
At the same time, Arlong’s group also spread out, doing the same thing in several nearby villages and towns.
Arlong even produced amusement park blueprints that no one knew when he had prepared. Although they were somewhat suspiciously similar to Bubble Park, he had also made quite a few improvements.
Theme attractions such as the Crazy Octopus Spinner, Starfish Ferris Wheel, and Lobster Roller Coaster had already been finalized, while amusement park equipment custom-ordered from other countries also began being transported toward Cocoyasi.
As construction got underway, the flow of people into Cocoyasi also began to increase. The influx of outside workers indirectly boosted the village’s economy.
After more than a month, the project tentatively named “Ryugu Park” had already begun in earnest, and the construction site was bustling with activity.
Although the tax exemption was a very attractive benefit, not everyone joined the project. Belle-mère, for example, continued tending her mikan grove.
She still had to take care of Nami and Nojiko. Although she had decent physical strength, she knew nothing about construction work and therefore did not become a laborer.
Even so, their living conditions still improved.
“Mister, would you like some fresh mikan juice? We have both sweet and sweet-and-sour!”
Arlong offered generous wages, but the people he had brought with him were essentially all warriors and had no interest in running a mess hall. In the end, that job was contracted out to Cocoyasi Village.
Children from the surrounding area would also come to sell fruit and other things. Nami and Nojiko, who sold mikan juice, were among them. This gave them a way to earn pocket money, allowing them to openly go to the bookstore and buy books.
“If only this amusement park would never be finished. Then there’d be people buying mikan juice every day.”
As she counted the Berry in her hands, Nami instinctively broke into a smile.
Her love of money was not solely because, in the original timeline, she had needed to continuously save Berry to buy back the village. Growing up without much money had also made her long for her family to become more well-off. Now, the first signs of that were already beginning to appear.
However, Nami was not thinking that deeply at the moment. All she knew was that as long as the amusement park remained unfinished, this business could continue indefinitely.
But Nami did not notice that while she was counting her money, someone had been watching her the entire time.
“That girl’s adoptive mother seems to like money a lot, and she does too. Could it be this family?”
The one staring at Nami was none other than Arlong.
He still remembered Shyarly’s divination. This was not because Arlong was superstitious. If anyone had a younger sister who could perform divinations with a one hundred percent accuracy rate, there was no way they could simply ignore her predictions.
Arlong clearly remembered the part about being intertwined with money, so after arriving at the designated location, he had begun paying attention to anyone who seemed particularly greedy for wealth.
While Arlong was wondering what influence a little girl could possibly have, he suddenly heard Nami say to Nojiko, “Belle-mère said we’re not allowed to steal things. This money is enough to buy that atlas. I’ve wanted it for a long time. With that book, I can keep studying navigation and drawing sea charts.”
“This little girl… wants to become a Navigator?”
Even on Fishman Island, Navigators were a very important profession.
Fish-Men and Merfolk could only guarantee that they would not die if they fell into the water. To travel the Grand Line and navigate back and forth with ships and cargo, they still need to figure a few things out.
However, Fish-Men and Merfolk had an advantage in this area. They were naturally more sensitive to sea currents and similar things.
Arlong said nothing and merely followed them in secret. Along the way, he picked up a draft sea chart Nami had drawn. From the numerous corrections and revisions on it, it was not difficult to tell that it was scrap paper she used for practice.
Arlong was not skilled in this field, but he still brought it back and handed it to his Navigator.
“Take a look at this.”
“A sea chart? Boss Arlong, did you draw this?”
“No. What do you think of it?”
“Hmm… whoever drew this has already grasped the basics. If their other fundamentals are solid too, then after another two years of basic study and some time spent apprenticing, they’d qualify as a proper Navigator.”
“If that’s the case… maybe I’ve found a treasure…”
A smile appeared at the corner of Arlong’s mouth. Developing this area was the basic plan, but at the same time, they also needed to gather talented people, just like Tesoro.
Even though Tesoro was of a different race, he could still make full use of his talents in the Ryugu Kingdom. If Arlong could discover a gifted Navigator, that would count as an achievement as well.
A child this young could already draw sea charts this well. Just how outstanding would she become once she grew up?
“My dear little sister’s divination… is as accurate as ever.”
“Shyarly’s Big Brother?”
“Get lost! Go do your work!”
When Arlong suddenly began praising Shyarly, someone nearby immediately chimed in. Arlong laughingly cursed at him and kicked him in the backside, sending him outside.
At this point, Arlong was planning to invest in Nami. He has the knowledge needed for navigation right here, and much of it is rare stuff that can’t be found in the Four Seas.
However, the person Arlong had just driven out happened to collide head-on with Hachi at the doorway. Both of them fell onto their backsides.
“Hachi? Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Nyuuuuu, Boss Arlong, a Marine ship is approaching!”
“Does it have a dog’s head on the bow?”
“No.”
“Is there a G-number marking on the hull?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“Then what are you panicking for?”
The dog’s head on the bow was Garp’s personal symbol, while the G-number markings belonged to Grand Line Marine branches. Arlong knew he could not handle Garp, and Marines from the Grand Line might also be troublesome to deal with.
But since neither was present here, Arlong truly did not take mere Marines from the Four Seas seriously.
Although they were all Marines, there was an enormous gap between the Grand Line and the Four Seas; ranks in the Four Seas branches were considered three grades lower compared to Headquarters and Grand Line branches.
Moreover, the highest rank available in a Four Seas branch was Commodore, so dealing with them would be effortless.
“Nyuuuuu, but Jack is at the seaside right now…”
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?!”
“Boss Arlong, you didn’t ask…”
Arlong was not afraid of the Marines. What he feared was Jack recklessly making a move and disrupting Nereus’s plans.
In theory, nothing should happen. Jack might be somewhat simple-minded, but he had even thought of building a statue for His Majesty first, so he should remember Nereus’s orders very clearly.
Even so, Arlong still felt that he could not quite figure Jack out. To be safe, he decided to hurry toward the shore.
When Arlong arrived at the shore, there was no large-scale conflict. There was only a medium-sized Marine warship anchored offshore, with a Marine shouting toward the coast.
“I am Lieutenant Commander Nezumi of the 16th Branch! We need to resupply here! Clear the route!”
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